I went on Uber’s £38 South African safari – here’s what happened

Visitors to Cape Town in the next four months are being offered the chance to book what might be the world’s cheapest safari

“You’re going to be seeing elephants and rhinos from a Toyota Prius? Is that safe?!” Whenever I told someone I was going on a South African safari with Uber, this was their predictable reaction.
Uber Safari is the company’s latest headline-grabbing “Go Anywhere” experience, following Uber Seaplane, a 35-minute flight above of the Scottish Highlands, Uber Balloon, which took tourists into the skies above Göreme National Park in Turkey, and Uber Yacht, which offered a taste of the high life in Ibiza.
Though the experiences are only available for a limited time, Uber Safari is the most ambitious yet, running for four months during South Africa’s peak season (October 2 to February 1).
During that period, any user in Cape Town will find an Uber Safari button in their app. Clicking it will allow them to select a Friday or Saturday, up to 90 days in advance, and book a safari. They will be picked up from their chosen Cape Town location, driven out to Aquila Private Game Reserve for a buffet breakfast, before they get into a proper safari vehicle to go and find the lions.
There are a limited number of Uber Safaris available: five every Friday and five every Saturday, so competition to bag one (the offer goes live today) will undoubtedly be fierce.
Best of all is the price. At ZAR 3,550 (around £152) per car, the cost could be as little as £38 per person. When you consider that holidaymakers often fork out tens of thousands of pounds to see the Big Five, Uber’s offer looks more than a little tempting.
There is a reason why people pay big money to go on safari, of course. Experienced guides – who can find the animals you want to see, manoeuvre visitors into the best spots, and, crucially, ensure everyone gets home safely – are worth stumping up for. So what would Uber’s £38-per-person safari be like?
Contrary to expectation, there was not a Prius in sight. The branded Uber Safari vehicles all come from the Uber Black line – Mercedes and BMWs rather than the economical but decidedly less luxurious Toyota hybrid cars that make up most of its fleet.
Comfort is an important factor here, because riders will spend more time in their Uber car than anywhere else. From central Cape Town, it takes a little more than two hours to reach the game reserve north-east of the city. The route took us through the Stellenbosch wine region and our driver became a tour guide, pointing out some of the most famous wineries and providing a potted history of South Africa.
Beyond the vineyards lay the spectacular Hawequas mountains, all stony cloud-wreathed peaks and deep river-cut ravines. Road signs implored drivers not to feed the baboons. Then it was into the Karoo, a dusty semi-desert wilderness. Here, the Tarmac turned to dirt track. A Prius would have struggled to cope. In one hair-raising moment, the dust cloud kicked up by the car ahead obscured our driver’s view of a lorry coming in the opposite direction, which we were lucky to avoid.
Then we arrived at the game reserve, tucked in to our breakfast of pastries, fresh fruit and coffee, and swapped the comfort of a blacked-out Mercedes for a classic safari vehicle: green 4×4 with a canopy roof and no sides. “Better to take photos from,” grinned our ranger as he started the vehicle up with a dull roar.
Perhaps the best-known safari spot in South Africa is Kruger National Park, a vast stretch of wilderness in the north-east of the country, roughly the size of Wales, which contains all the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo), plus 142 other species of mammal, 114 types of reptiles and more than 500 varieties of bird. Aquila – at 10,000 hectares – is a far smaller proposition and, as a reserve, its wildlife is carefully managed. In fact, the lions are kept separate from the prey animals and fed by rangers (our guide suggested it would be too expensive for the reserve to replace its antelope if the lions were let loose). If you’re looking for nature red in tooth and claw, you won’t find it here.
Majestic though it was to see a lion in the heart of the Karoo, those I witnessed were relaxing just yards from a fence. I did occasionally feel like I was at Woburn or Longleat.
Because Aquila is a managed landscape rather than truly wild, there are fewer species to see, too. If you’re desperate to see hyenas, wild dogs, cheetahs, water buffalo or honey badgers, forget it.
On the plus side, the Karoo provides a stunning backdrop. On my game drive I looked out at a vast stormfront looming over distant mountains and witnessed the golden rays of waning sunlight over the dusty plains.
There are some advantages to a small reserve like Aquila, too. The experienced rangers know the animals individually, including where they like to hang out. Sightings are guaranteed. I was introduced to Harry the ostrich, a friendly fellow who enjoyed putting his whole head inside our truck and giving my shirt buttons a curious peck. I was told he has pinched phones and sunglasses from unwary tourists in the past.
There was a magnificent moment when we descended into a small gully, crossed a stream, and then came out the other side to find three bull elephants standing before us, surrounded by a small herd of impala, with zebras dust-bathing in the distance, and a herd of Cape buffalo forming a protective circle around their young. I had a lump in my throat seeing something up close which had always been confined to nature documentaries on television.
We passed a crash of rhinoceroses, a mother giraffe with her week-old (but already 6ft-tall) baby, all happy to languidly watch our vehicle as it hummed down the road in front of them. I was also thrilled to see the smaller animals: a mongoose skipping through the dust, pausing on its hind legs to watch us; a spotted eagle owl darting into the air when our vehicle drew too close.
On the long drive back to Cape Town, I certainly didn’t feel short-changed. Could my Uber Safari have been wilder? Undoubtedly. But I managed to see four of the Big Five in the space of about 20 minutes, and dozens of other species besides. I’d felt the dust of the Karoo settle on my skin. I’d watched a sunset turn a herd of giraffes into black silhouettes. That all this is, albeit temporarily, being offered for £38 per person – roughly the same price as a trip to Chester Zoo, or an Uber across London – is worth celebrating.
Jack Rear was hosted by Uber. The Uber Safari is available to any user in Cape Town via the Uber app from October 2, 2024 to February 1 2025 for ZAR3,550 per car. It can be booked up to 90 days in advance.

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